Kosovo police exchange fire with local Serbs blocking roads

Kosovo Serbs and country’s police exchanged gunfire on Saturday after a flareup of tensions in the volatile northern part of the country.
Earlier in the day Serbs from Kosovo’s north blocked main roads in the region to protest against the arrest of a former member of the Kosovo police who quit his post last month along with other ethnic Serbs.
With a crisis mounting in the majority Serb north, Kosovo’s president Vjosa Osmani on Saturday announced that local elections in that area would be delayed until April 23. Elections had been scheduled for Dec. 18 but Serbs said they would boycott the polls.
Police said the blockade halted traffic and they were forced to close two border crossings between Kosovo and Serbia. Later, they said they came under fire in several locations close to a lake bordering Serbia. There were no immediate reports of injuries.